Geopolymer/Vermiculite Composite

Background
Recently, heat-island effect is becoming a serious problem in big cities. As the measure to it, water-retentive materials which absorb much water from rainfall and retains the water for long time are attracting attention. These materials can lower the temperature of land surfaces evaporation heat in releasing the retained water.

Objective and Strategy
We prepared a water-retentive material of geopolymer / vermiculite at room temperature which has high water absorption and its slow releasing ability.

Results
The geopolymer / vermiculite composite showed water absorption of 60% and retaining the water for 7 days. By addition of vermiculite the water-retentive material showed higher intensity.